In Another Life
by LetsBeBraveThisTime
Summary: A joined effort of The Avengers and The X-Men to take down Loki goes wrong when a stray spell goes haywire and turns some of our favorite heroes/villains into teenagers with no memory of their adult lives. Can some people change when given a second chance


Hello :) Just a little intro so that no one gets confused. This story will jump back and forth through time a lot and may also contain a few characters of my own (everything will be explained in due time so relax haha). We start out AFTER our favorite heroes/villains have been turned into teenagers and are temporarily staying at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Also, this is my first fanfiction publication EVER! I usually just write for my own enjoyment but I have suddenly plucked up the courage to share some of my ideas with all of you fine folks, so please let me know what you think... good or bad *gulp*.

The fire crackled and popped before her, sending a steady wave of heat onto her upturned face and bare arms. It cast the group around her in a warm, orange glow and seemed to offer a kind of protection from the dark forest that lay behind them.

Returning her gaze to the speaker across from her, who had perched himself contentedly atop a fallen tree trunk, she amused herself by following the flickering shadows that danced across his face; magnifying the already terrifying effect his glowing yellow eyes, dark skin and pointed teeth had – and making him appear even more menacing than he usually did.

Of course, looks had never been more deceiving, for she knew that no matter how hard he tried to make himself seem like some sort of monster to help embellish his story, he was really nothing more than a harmless blue furball.

She watched as some of the younger students pulled their blankets closer to them or made quick glances over their shoulders into the thick of the trees as Kurt continued with his disturbing tale.

Logan, leaning comfortably against a tree, beer in hand, had a rare but amused look on his face as his eyes met those of Ororo's, who had settled herself in on the opposite side of the fire pit.

Instinctively she knew something was up, and she allowed her mind to drift into that of her mentors, ignoring the fact that the Professor would be disappointed in her not having more self control. Ah, there it was. She had caught sight of the scheming plan the three had concocted during dinner and she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing and interrupting the story.

She closely watched the mischievous threesome as Kurt's story came to a close, his deep heavily accented voice barely a whisper as he delivered the bone chilling punch line. There was a dramatic pause, during which she was certain she could hear the bullfrogs bellowing from the pond half a mile away, before Ororo's eyes went white and there was a crack of thunder and flash of lightening above that shook the very ground around them.

She let out a hearty laugh as the screaming settled around her and everyone slowly climber back into their skin.

"And on zat note, I sink it iz time fur bed!" Kurt called out.

"Agreed. Now move it, all of yuh. I'm sick of lookin' at your faces." Logan added.

There were a few disappointed groans mixed in along with the general hustle and bustle as everyone collected their belongings and shuffled back to their tents.

Wide awake and nowhere near ready to return to her tent, especially since her bunk mate had been fighting with her boyfriend the entire trip and insisted on complaining to her about it every second of every day, she took her time walking back to the campsite searching for some kind of distraction.

She had almost lost hope when she noticed a shadowy figure stretched out on the slope adjacent to their campground. Deliberately giving in to her curiosity, she by passed the tents and made her way up the grassy hillside toward the mysterious stranger.

Approaching slowly, she became unnerved by how unusually still he was, and in a moment of weakness her mind wandered back to Kurt's story and she worried – for only a minute – that she might be approaching some sort of corpse...

Quieting her overactive imagination, she decided to use her "gifts" to test the water. Closing her eyes she let her mind drift into his... or at least, she tried to. It was as though he was blocking her somehow, as though every time she came close to touching his mind her thoughts were suddenly redirected and she found herself as distanced from him as she had originally been. Not one to give up easily, she tried again using a few different techniques the Professor had taught her, but when she still received nothing (no passing thoughts, no images, no feelings...) she decided that she would just have to do this the old fashioned way.

Standing over him now she could see that he was, in fact, very much so alive though he made no attempt to acknowledge her presence and for a moment she wondered if he knew she was there at all.

"Hi," she nearly whispered, for he looked so peaceful that she thought perhaps it had been a mistake to disturb him.

Pale eyelids shot open, revealing to her the most stunningly beautiful, and unnaturally green eyes she had ever seen.

"Hello." His voice was curt, but not all together unpleasant and he didn't seem surprised to find her hovering over him.

Being unable to sense anything from him, she was a bit taken a back and her mind worked quickly to come up with something to say. "Everyone's going to bed now..." she rambled.

"Very well. I will return to my tent shortly." He spoke in the same tone as before, and while he wasn't impolite she had the distinct feeling that he was thoroughly uninterested in her.

"Actually," she began, mind again racing, "I'm not the least bit tired, and I was hoping you could distract me."

Here he finally shifted his gaze from the dark night sky to her fair, pretty face and seemed to study her for a minute. "I am afraid that I have nothing to _distract_ you with." He responded, returning his gaze to the stars.

"Well, you must be up to something." She stated, flashing him her sweetest smile.

It worked as she had hoped it would and he quirked an eyebrow at her as he said, "If you must know, I was studying."

"The back of your eyelids?"

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, "The stars."

"You have an interest in astrology?" She asked, genuinely interested.

You could say that, though it would be more accurate to say that I have an interest in everything."

She chuckled softly at that, "I can understand why. There are so many beautiful and perplexing mysteries in the universe. It's such a pity that so many people simply look over things without ever giving them a second thought."

"It is indeed a pity." His demeanor had changed. She wasn't entirely sure how, but something was different about him. It was as though she had sparked an interest in him.

"I've never really had a chance to study the constellations, but I'd love to learn... I don't suppose you would be willing to teach me?" She was using that smile of hers again.

There was a puzzled look on his face, as though he weren't entirely sure how to react to the situation, but eventually he nodded to her and made a motion for her to join him on the grass.

It felt good to stretch out on the cool, soft ground and she lay out entirely, fanning her long dark hair behind her and stretching her arms so that they rested beneath her head.

For a moment he could do nothing but watch as her wonderfully curved frame stretched out next to him and his senses were suddenly invaded by her.

"So where do we begin?" She smirked, turning her gentle, dark eyes on him.

Resisting the urge to gulp, he turned his vibrant green irises back on the expanse of stars above them, "I suppose with the more general of them, such as the one called the 'Aquarius'."

She couldn't be sure of how much time had passed, but the camp had grown quiet, the fire extinguished long ago. She also couldn't be sure of how much he had taught her had actually sunk in. She had noticed shortly after he began how eerily calm and seductive his voice was, and she hadn't been able to focus on much since.

"...and that cluster of stars to the left, that's Andromeda..."

He had outstretched one of his long, solid arms and she had been busy admiring the perfect musculature beneath his sleeves, when she realized he was looking at her.

"I'm sorry," she blushed, "I'm having some trouble spotting that one."

"I see. Perhaps if you were to move closer you could use my arm as a lead?" Had he just suggested that she move herself nearer to him? The shock of sudden uncertainty caught in his chest.

"Good idea." She smiled, sliding across the grass so that they rested only a few inches from one another.

Readjusting his arm, he waited until her gaze had followed it upward before continuing. He wasn't entirely sure of what he was telling her anymore, as he was so distracted by the sheer closeness of her. He felt as though he were speaking out of habit now; simply forcing the words to come to keep him from looking over at her. He was trying to remember the last time he had spent this much time with a woman... He was trying to remember the last time he had spent this long with anyone... He found his heart was beating unusually fast...

That changed quite suddenly when the muscle seemed to come to a rather unsettling halt as he felt a light pressure on his shoulder. His normally silver tongue seemed to be glued to the top of his mouth and he risked a quick glance at her only to find that she had fallen asleep; her body still and her breathing steady.

He allowed himself to relax now, to enjoy the warmth of her body next to his and to breathe in the sweet light scent that seemed to hang on her hair and skin.

His body urged him to be still and not disturb her, to simply lie next to her until morning and drink her in while he had the chance... But his mind scolded him and reminded him how foolish the two of them would look if they were found together the next morning. While fighting for control of his hormones, he gently slid himself from under her, being careful to gently lay her head on the grass.

He stood and took one final look at her, admiring her curves and delicate features, trying to memorize the smile that she had given him (he would have to try it out the next time he shifted into a woman), and then with a simple gesture, he began to levitate her still sleeping form back to the campsite.

Unsure of which tent was hers, he planned to put her in his while he slept outside by the fire pit, unfortunately he ran into an unexpected road block along the way.

"What in the Hell are you doin' kid?"

He hated nothing more than being spoken to in such a condescending manner, and for a moment considered turning the ignorant man into an actual wolverine before deciding that would cause more of a scene than he cared to deal with at this hour. He also realized how suspicious he must have looked, being the loner he was and levitating an unconscious girl into his tent in the middle of the night, and since this man was acting in her best interests, he deserved an explanation.

"We were discussing the constellations and she fell asleep, I was trying to return her to her tent. I don't suppose you know where that is?" He asked, in a voice that was anything but friendly.

The man seemed to grit his teeth and look him over a few times before nodding toward a red tent at the end of a row. "You're both past curfew." He grumbled before returning the cigar to his mouth and stalking off toward the tree line.

Turning on his heel, and now feeling particularly annoyed, he returned the girl to her tent before making his way back to his own, where his brother was snoring loudly. He was only too aware of the cold, suspicious eyes that watched him from the tree line.


End file.
